Information-vending machine



L A T R E B m G L. M. 6. 2 9 1 8 1 v. a M

INFORMATION VENDING MACHINE Filed March 2, 1925 (y QUESTIONS Patented May 18, 1926.

l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARION I|.- GILBERT AND ROY GILBERT, OF DES MOI-NES, IOWA.

Application filed March 2, 1925. Serial No. 12,554.`

rovide '11g 111- A further object is to provide' a coin-con\ .i trolled information vending machine which is simple in construction and economical in manufacture.

These and other objects vwill be apparent Lto those skilled in the art. Our invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various Aparts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in our claims ll and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

`Fig. 1 is a front View of our complete device with portions cut away to illustrate certain internal parts thereof. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional View of our device taken on line 2-.2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the coin controlled parts taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 1s a plan view of the coincontrolled parts taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5l is an enlarged view of the clutch mechanism employed to wind the sheet of questions and answers from one roller to the other. Fig. 6 is a lever detent used on each of the reels. Fig. 7 is a side sectional View taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 3.

The information that may be compiled for our device is boundless. It may contain information similar to a city directory or it may contain national statistics of interest to the general public.

We have designated the housing of this device by the numeral 10, which is preferably made of sheet steel or the like, This housing has the greater portion of its face or front open which is designed to be covered by glass plate 11. This glass plate is slightly larger than the opening and is held inside said housing and at the opening by the frame 12, which in turn is held in proper position by the screws 13. This frame eX- tends over the back and sides of the glass 11, and has two openings, 14 and 15. Over the opening 414 and printed on thc housing 10 is the word Questions. Over the opening 15 and printed on the housing 10 is the word Answers. Journaled near the top and in the sides of the housing are the discwheels 16 and 17. They are retained in this position by being held the proper distance apart by .the wooden roller 18 which is secured thereto by the wood screws 19. Journaled in the roller 18 and the wheels 16 and 1 7, 1s the shaft 2 0 which has the pin 21 deslgned to enter and engage the ratchet-notch 22 of the disc-wheel 16 when the shaft is rotated to the right. Loosely and rotatably mounted on the shaft 2O is the sprocket wheel 23 having the ratchet-notch 24 which 1s so designed that when the shaft 2O is rotated to the left the pin 21 will enter and engagethe same. The numeral 25 designates a coll spring designed to yieldinglyhold the inner hub of the sprocket wheel 23 adjacent the outer hub of the disc-wheel 16. The entering edges of the ratchet notches 22 and 24 are slightly rounded so that engagementv one with the' other is impossible. Journaled near the bottom and in the sides .of the housing 10 are the disc-wheels 26 and 27: They vare retained in this position by belng held the proper distance apart by the vwooden roller 28, which is secured thereto by wood screws or the like. Permanently mounted in the roller 28 is the shaft 29 which carries the sprocket wheel 30. The numeral 31 designates an endless chain laround the sprocket wheels 23 andv 30. The numeral 32 designates a; long strip of paper or the like, approximately as wide as the opening in the housing 10, and designed to be secured at each end to the rollers 18 and 28 and rolled thereon as shown in Fig. 2. The numerals 33 and 34 designate rollers mounted on the shafts 35 and 36 journaled in the sides of the housing and are so designed and positioned as to keep the face of the paper 32 close to the openings 14 and-15. Printed the full length of this sheet of paper and adjacent the opening 14 .are questions, while printed the fulll length, and adjacent the opening 15 are the correct answers, each in alignment with the particular question.

asked. The numeral 37 designates a handle mounted on the shaft 20 for turning the same. -I have used the numeral 38 to designate a coin tube which has its upper end at 39 and designed to receive a coin such as a penny. This tube extends down within the housing 10 and terminates just above the money box 40 in the bottom of the housing. This money box is removable from the housing through an opening in the side of the housing. The flange 41 of the money box limits the movement of the same in one direction, while the lock 42 limits (when in locked position) its movement in the other direction, thereby sealing the side opening los ' within the slot 43. Pivotally mounted inin the housing. Therefore when it is de sired to remove the collected coins from the money box, one may do so by unlocking the lock 42 and removing the money bon through the opening to such a position as to be aoccssible thereto. rlhe numeral 43 designates a curved slot in one side ot the coin` tube.. lltotatably mounted on the stud 44 and near its center is the arm 45. @ne end of this arm is very thin and is preferably made of spring steel. `Near the end ot this thin ortlon is the nipple 46 which is designed w en in normal position to enter and operate the other end of the arm is the link 47. This link 47 is pivotally secured at its other end to the curtain 48 which is designed to operate within the uides 49 and 50 which are mounted in the ousing and on each side on? the opening 15. By this arrangement the curtain operates between the opening A and the paper 32. Mounted on the shaft at the end opposite the crank handle is the gear 51 which is in engagement with 'the pinion 52 which is mounted on the shalt 53 journaled in the two sides oim the housing l0., The numeral 54 designates a trigger pivot ally mounted near its center to the housing at 55. At the lower end of this trigger is the projection 56 designed to engage the thin portion of the arm at times when that member is in lowered position. The

other end of the trigger 54 extends up and over the sha-ft 53 and is yieldingly held in contact with the eccentric 57 on the shalt 53 by the coil spring 58. By this arrangement, when the handle 37 is turned the shaft 53 will also be rotated which will oscillate the trigger and it the thin portion of the 'arm 45 is in lowered position the projection 56 will engage it and thereby cause the nipple 46 to be withdrawn from the slot 43. The numeral 59 designates a counter weight on the thin portion of the arm 45., provided to almost counter balance the thick portion of the arm and the curtain 48. 'llhe numerals y 60 and 60 designate lever detente oppositely arranged and mounted -on the inner wall ot the housing 10. liheir long arms are each designed to engage the paper 32 when a certain amount ot' it is on one ot the rollers adjacent that arm. As the roll of paper be` comes larger the arm is elevated which causes the other end or detent portion to engage the notch 61 in that respective reel and prevent any additional amount of paper being wound on the same. 'lhe numeral 62 designates a stop which may be provided to limit the movement of the lever' detent in one direction. The numeral 63 designates a housing around the mechanism located on the outside and right hand side of our inachine. The numeral 64 designates a housing around the mechanism located on the outside and left hand side of our machine.

manana The practical operation of lthe complete device is as follows:

rllurn the handle until a desired question appears inthe opening 14. rlurn slowly until it isl adjacent the indicator 65. coin in the slot 39. lhis coin -will travel down the tube 38 until its descent is prevented by the nipple 46, however due to the :tact that the arm 45 is almost balanced on the stud 44, the additional weight ot the coin will overbalance the arm on one side and the nipple will descend in the slot 43 as far as it is possible for it to do so, while the other end of the arm will ascend and raise with it the curtain 48, thereby making it possible to read the desired answer in the opening 15. As soon as the handle is again turned tor another question, the trigger 54 is actuated and as the thin portion of the arm is in lowered position and directly in front ot the project-ion 56 the same will be ilorced inward thereby causing the nipple 46 to be withdrawn Jfromthe slot 43 and allowing the coin to continue its descent down the tube and into the money box. is the projection retreats the spring arm will return the nipple. By the weight or" the coin being absent the arm will return to normal position and the curtain will shade the opening 15, and the device will be ready for another operation.

llt may be' found advisable to have an ad ditional roller such as 66 to keep the paper close to the glass in the opening 14. 'llhis roller is an enact duplicate ot' 33 and 34.

'llhe opening 15 is relatively narrow, so that' although many of the questions are visible at all times through the opening 14, yet the answer to only one question is visible at any time through the opening 15, and that only when the curtain 48 is raised.

'lhe clutch mechanism before explained and shown in F ig. 5 allows the questions and answers on the sheet to move either upward or downwardly as is desired. This is accomplished by the pin 21 entering and engaging the ratchet notch 22 of the wheel 16 when the handle is turned to the right thus locking the top reel so that it will turn with the handle and wind the sheet on that reel. When'the handle is turned to the left the pin 21 has no hold on the ratchet notch 22 and therefore slides out of the same and enters the oppositely arranged ratchet notch 24 of the sprocket wheel 23 and thereby locks the sprocket wheel so that it will turn with the handle. As the sprocket wheel 30 is mounted on the lower reel and the endless chain 31 is around the sprocket wheel 30 and the sprocket wheel 23, the reel last mentioned must turn to the left when the handle is also turned t0 the lett, thereby winding the sheet trom the top reel to the lower reel.

llt is necessary to provide a means tor gaining access to 'the inside or our device Drop a lll@ and for this reason the back is hinged at 67 and held in closed position by the catch 68 engaging the hook 69. To open, unlock the money box and remove the same, and reach 1n and manually raise the catch from engagement with the hook, the same being` yieldingly heldin engagement by the spring- Having fully described our invention, what we claim and desire to obtain by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an information vending machine, a housing having an opening, a drum on each side of said opening, a guard disc of greater diameter than the. drums secured to and mounted on each side of each of the said drums, one of said discs of each drum having a ratchet notch in its periphery, a sheet having information printed thereon and having each end secured to said drums and wound thereon, two arms pivotally mounted near their centers on said housing and each having one of their ends extending over a drum respectively and their other end normally extending over thel notched disc of that drum, but capable of engaging said notch and preventing the rotation of that druminone direction when the end extending over the drum is raised a certain distance, and a means for selectively rotating said drums.

2. In an information vendin machine, a housing having an opening, a rum on each side of said opening, a guard disc of greater diameter than that of the drums secured to and mounted on each side of each of the drums, one of said discsof each drum having a ratchet notch in its periphery, a sheet having information printed thereon and having each end secured to said drums and wound thereon, two arms each pivotally mounted between their two ends to said housing, said arms each having their heaviest free end extending over a drum respectively and the other free end normally extending over the notched disc of that drum, two studs mounted on said housing and each engaging one of the ends of the arms when that end is in normal position for limiting the movement of that arm to one direction, and a means for selectively rotating said drums.

3. In a device of the class described, a housinff, spaced reels therein, a sheet wound on said reels, a shaft on which one of said reels is loosely mounted, said reel having a ratchet notch in Iits hub, a sprocket wheel also loosely mounted on said shaft and having a ratchet notch in its hub, a second sprocket wheel secured to the other reel, an endless chain around said two sprocket wheels, and a key in said shaft for engaging the ratchet notch in the `hub of the reel when the shaft is -rotated in one direction and the ratchet notch in the hub of the rst mentioned sprocket wheel when the shaft is retated in the opposite direction.

4. In a device of the class described, a housing, spaced reels therein, a sheet wound on said reels, a sha-ft on which one of said reels is loosely mounted, said reel having a ratchet notch in its hub, a sprocket wheel also loosely mounted on said shaft and having an oppositely arranged ratchet notch in its hub from the first mentioned ratchet notch, a second sprocket wheel secured to the other reel, an endless chain around said two sprocket wheels, a key secured to said shaft and positioned 'between the hub of the reel and thehub of the sprocket wheel first mentioned, a spring for yieldingly holding the hub of the sprocket wheel adjacent the said key, and a handle on said shaft for rotating the same in either direction.

5. In an information vending machine, a housing having two or more openings, a reel on each side of said openings, a sheet having questions and answers printed thereon and having each end secured to said reels and wound thereon, an arm pivotally mounted near its center to said housing, a curtain suspended from o-ne end of said arm and normally positioned back of one of the said openings, a weight on the other end of the said arm for almost counterbalancing the weight of the curtain, and a means for automatically removing (as soon as one of the reels is rotated) any weightPlaced on the last mentioned end of said arm for raising said curtain.

6. Inan information vending machine, a housing having two openings, a reel on each side of said openings, a sheet secured to and wound on said reels and having questions printed thereon and adjacent one of said openings and answers printed thereon and adjacent the other opening, an arm pivotally mounted near its center to said housing, a curtain suspended from one end of -said arm and normally positioned in front of the answers printed on said sheet, a weight on the other end of the said arm for almost counterbalancing the weight of the curtain,

MARION L. GILBERT. ROY GILBERT. 

